Apparatus for punching tie plates



G. T. WILLARD APPARATUS FOR PUNCHING TIE PLATES Original Filed Jan. 3, 1938 Dec. 29, 1942.

0 I a .\l s 0 e 8 z \plo a a my. WT m W fl Patented Dec. 29, 1942 2,306,658 APPARATUS FOR PUNCHING TiE- George T. Willard, Fort Lauderdale, Fla, assignor to The P. & M. Company, Chicago, poration of Delaware Original application Ja 183,010. Divided and 1942, Serial No. 443,331

4 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved apparatus for punching apertures in railway tie plates.

The principal object of the invention is to provide an improved apparatus of the above character for punching tie plates to form apertures therein for receiving rail retaining clip members and to combine with said punching operations a metal extruding operation to form said apertures with under-cut recesses and to form on the top surface of the plate upwardly projecting lugs overlying said recesses.

The invention is illustrated in certain preferred embodiments in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a view in perspective of a tie plate bar illustrating the configuration of tie plate to be punched by the specific form of apparatus herein shown.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view of one form of die and punch member for punching a tie plate and forming an upstanding lug thereon in one preferred location.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but showing the punch in a position whereby the material of the tie plate is displaced and forced into a recess in the die to form an upstanding lug on the rail abutment rib of the tie plate.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but illustrating a different form of punch member whereby the upstanding lug formed on the rail abutment rib extends the full width of the rib.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary illustration of a further modification of apparatus, and

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on line i -G of Fig. 5, but showing the punch member in its elevated position,

The three specific embodiments of apparatus herein shown are formed with suitable proportions for performing the desired punching and metal extruding operations on a shouldered tie plate, but the apparatus is not to be limited to the specific form of tie plate shown.

The tie plate illustrated herein for convenience is designated by the reference numeral Ill. It is formed with a rail-base receiving seat spaced between upstanding ribs H-ll. The plate is preferably severed from a rolled metal bar, having the desired cross-section; by shearing the bar along line l2 to provide plates of any suitable width. The aperture forming and metal extruding operations of the present apparatus may be carried out either before or after the tie plate is severed from the tie plate bar. The said shearing operation and likewise all other punching and pressing operations hereinafter described are,

verted position on the die.

11]., a cornuary 3, 1938, Serial No. this application May 18,

preferably, performed while the tie plate bar is relatively hot. However, the metal ordinarily used for railway tie plates is such that the shearing and punching and pressing operations contemplated by this invention can be performed after the tie plate bar has cooled. In other words, the apparatus herein shown is suitable for both hot and cold metal operations.

The apparatus shown in Figs. 2 and 3 comprises a die member I3 for supporting the tie pate l8, and a punch M for forming a rail clip receiving aperture i5 in the plate and thereafter so displace the metal adjacent the said aperture as to form an upstanding lug l6 (Fig. 3) on the upper surface of one of said rail abutment ribs ll of the plate.

In order to simplify the drawing, the mechanism for operating the punch member 14 is omitted and only so much of the punch and die elements are shown as is necessary to punch the clip opening l5 at one end of the plate and to form the adjacent lug Hi. It will be understood that duplicate punch members I4 will be used when the openings |5-I5 at opposite ends of the plate are punched simultaneously.

The said supporting die I3 is formed with a recess ll corresponding to the curvature of one rib ll of the tie plate and is adapted to receive said rib when the tie plate is placed in an in- An opening l8 corresponding to the configuration of the lower end of the punch M is formed in the die at a suitable position to receive the lower end of the punch during its downward or punching movement.

A recess l9 corresponding in length and depth to the desired length and height of the lug Hi to be formed in the plate extends downwardly from the bottom wall of the recess l1 and communicates through its open side with a punch opening IS in the die. The said recess IE, it will be observed, may vary in contour so as to correspond to the configuration of the particular shape of lug desired.

The punch H is formed with a preferably integral shoulder 28 adapted to form a recess I511 in the bottom of the plate and force the metal displaced thereby into the recess iii of the die to form the said lug l6. Preferably the distance from the working end of the punch to the shoulder 29' is such that the open side of the recess I! leading into the punching opening I8 is completely closed by the punch at or prior to the engagement of said shoulder with the bottom surface of the plate 10. The particular position of the lower end of said die l4 relative to the bottom wall of recess I9 when the shoulder 20 moves into engagement with the bottom surface of the tie plate I will vary with the variations in the thickness of the tie plate. However, the distance from the lower end of the punch to the said shoulder is ordinarily made of suflicient length to function as above described when operating on plates of maximum thickness.

Referring to the modified embodiment shown in Fig. 4: The tie plate I 0a corresponds to the plate In in general contour but the recess I9a of the die 13a extends inwardly to the vertical face 23 of the rail abutment rib H a of the tie plate. Preferably the lower surface of the recess l9a inclines slightly downwardly and inwardly toward the said vertical shoulder 23. The portion Ila of the punch may be, and preferably is, of the same general size and contour as the portion I4 of the punch previously described but the shoulder 20a is somewhat wider than the shoulder 20 of the previous punch and is also so proportioned as to form a deeper recess in the bottom of the tie plate. The said recess in the bottom of the tie plate is made somewhat longer and deeper in the present modification so as to displace a larger amount of metal, since the metal displaced is employed to make a substantially wider lug [6a, that is to say, a lug in which the inner face thereof extends to the inner face 23 of the rail abutment rib Ha of the tie plate.

Referring now to the embodiment illustrated in Figs. and 6 of the drawing: i3b designates the supporting die for the tie plate, 22 designates in dotted lines the recess in the plate for receiving the rail abutment rib [lb of the plate and 19b l9b indicate recesses in the die i312 which extend at right angles to the said recess 22 so that the spaced lugs 2424 on the plate will extend at right angles to the said rail abutment rib lib. The said die l3 has two spaced apart openings l8bl8b for receiving the lower ends of the punches |4b-l4b. It will be observed that in this embodiment the laterally extending shoulders 2011-2011 of the punches, instead of extending transversely of the rail abutment rib l lb, as illustrated in the previous embodiment, extend lengthwise of said rib.

Downward movement of the punch Mb from the position indicated in Fig. 6 toward the position indicated in Fig. 5 punches the desired size opening in one end of the tie plate. As soon as the said punches Mb-Mb reach the position to close the recesses Nib-19b, the shoulders 2012-201) of the punch elements are caused to press on the bottom of the tie plate to form the recesses and to force the metal displaced into the said recesses I9b-l9b.

This application is a division of my application Serial No. 183,010, filed January 3, 1938, and is also a continuation in part through said application Serial No. 183,010 of application Serial No. 98,122, filed August 2'7, 1936, in which the subject matter was originally disclosed as to Figs. 2, 3 and 4, but which disclosure was cancelled out of said application Serial No. 98,122 prior to the the issuance of Patent No. 2,140,344 on said application.

I claim:

1. The combination with a die having a surface for the support of a tie plate and having an opening in said surface and a recess adjacent the opening and sloping downwardly from the lateral confines of the opening, of a punch tool mounted for movement in and out of said opening to act upon a tie plate on the seat, said tool being shaped to conform substantially with the opening, exclusive of the recess, and having a plate-engaging shoulder over the recess distant from its workengaging end and terminating between the confines of said opening and the edge of said recess remote from the opening, the recess providing a generally downwardly and outwardly sloping, flow-arresting surface for material of the plate displaced by the shoulder in the operation of the tool.

2. The combination with a die having a seat for the support of a tie-plate and having an opening through the seat and a recess in the seat adjacent the opening, the bottom of the recess leading directly into the opening a substantial distance below the seat, of a punching tool mounted for movement into and out of said opening to act upon a tie-plate on the seat, said tool being shaped to conform substantially with the opening, exclusive of the recess, and having a plate engaging shoulder over the recess and spaced upwardly from the work engaging end of the tool a distance equal substantially to at least the sum of said first distance and the thickness of the portion of the plate above the top of the recess, whereby the tool substantially fills the part of said opening immediately below the recess prior to engagement of said shoulder with the plate, the recess providing a flow-arresting surface for material of the plate displaced by the shoulder in the operation of the tool.

3. The combination with a die having a seat for supporting a tie plate, an opening in said seat, and a recess in the seat adjacent the opening, of a punching tool mounted for movement into and out of said opening to act upon a tie-plate on said seat, the tool having an initial, plate-engaging end shaped to conform substantially with the opening, exclusive of the recess, and also having a shoulder above said end and overlying the recess, the shoulder extending outwardly from the tool, and terminating in a gouging edge located a substantial distance inwardly from the edge of the recess remote from the tool, said shoulder being operable to gouge the surface of the plate and upset metal into said recess, and the bottom of the recess providing a flow-arresting surface for metal upset by the shoulder.

4. In an apparatus for forming tie-plate openings, the combination of a die having a seat for supporting a tieplate and having an opening through the seat and a recess in the seat adjacent the opening, the bottom of the recess leading directly into the opening a substantial distance below the seat, means for engaging a tieplate on the seat to punch an opening through the plate over the opening in the die, said means being shaped to conform substantially with the opening in the die, exclusive of the recess, an element operable to engage the surface of the tieplate above the recess and movable into the plate to upset metal into the recess and indent the plate, and means for blocking said recess from the opening in the die prior to the initial engagement of said element with the plate.

GEORGE T. WILLARD. 

